Line #46 Film/Showgirls


1	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
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3	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Showgirls_53.jpg]]
4	[[caption-width-right:300:''[[{{Tagline}} Leave your inhibitions at the door...\
5	The show is about to begin.]]'']]
6
7	->''"You are a whore, darlin'... We all are. We take the cash, we cash the check, we show 'em what they wanna see."''
8	-->-- '''Cristal Connors'''
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10	''Showgirls'' is a 1995 sexploitation film written by Creator/JoeEszterhas and directed by Creator/PaulVerhoeven. It is also the only movie to receive a wide release under the NC-17 rating.
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12	This tale of the lives of UsefulNotes/LasVegas strippers, set to the plots of ''Film/FortySecondStreet'' and ''Film/AllAboutEve'', may have also been partially responsible for the rating's decline, as it was basically an X-rated movie that went through the ratings process (which actually isn't required for an X rating; anyone wanting to make an X-rated movie can gladly release it as such on their own).
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14	The film tells the tale of [[PunnyName Nomi Malone]] (Creator/ElizabethBerkley), a country girl who hitchhikes to UsefulNotes/LasVegas in hopes of becoming "a dancer" and eventually (after a lot of nudity, a lot of sleaze, a little violence, and a lot of choreographed dance numbers) making her way to the top.
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16	''Showgirls'' was -- and still is -- a rather controversial film. It flopped at the box office, which killed the chances of future NC-17 movies getting wide releases. However, it attracted a cult following on home video, chiefly as a [[SoBadItsGood "guilty pleasure"]] film infamous for its excessive sex, even more excessive nudity, and hilariously inane story and dialogue. By contrast, take a look at the 1966 film, ''Film/{{Blowup}}'', which took the opportunity to deal the final knockout blow to UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode and didn't foul it up by becoming a hailed film classic.
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18	An unofficial spin-off sequel, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showgirls_2:_Penny%27s_from_Heaven Showgirls 2: Penny's from Heaven]]'', focused on the minor character Penny, played by Rena Riffel (who also wrote, produced, edited, and directed the film) was released DirectToVideo in 2011.
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20	----
21
22	!! ''Showgirls'' contains the following tropes:
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24	* AllMenArePerverts: Virtually none of the straight men in this film have any kind of morals or act in a way that won't ultimately lead to getting in some woman's pants or seeing her breasts. Even the CampGay guys talk in almost nothing but sexual overtones.
25	* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Cristal warns new girl Nomi: "There's always someone younger and hungrier coming down the stairs after you".
26	* AmbiguouslyBi: Nomi who is attracted to men but shares a lot of closeness and tension with both her friend Molly and her rival Cristal.
27	* AnatomicallyImpossibleSex: When Zach and Nomi have sex in his swimming pool, since she's perched far too high for intercourse to be possible.
28	* AtLeastIAdmitIt: Cristal considers herself a type of whore and calls Nomi out for denying it when she's trying to get the same job. She eventually becomes obsessed with trying to get Nomi to realize she is a whore herself, setting up different scenarios through the film that all lead to a sexual outcome. Nomi never agrees or admits it.
29	* BabyTrap: James ends up getting engaged to Hope/Penny because he has gotten her pregnant.
30	* BerserkButton: Nomi really hates being called a whore and being asked to be one. [[spoiler: In the end we learn that before moving to Las Vegas she'd actually been a prostitute.]]
31	* TheBeard: Zach is this for his girlfriend Cristal, who ogles Nomi through her show and while Nomi delivers a private lapdance on Zack.
32	* BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: Despite Nomi's previous hesistation at going to extreme lengths for roles, Cristal is proud of Nomi for having lied, cheated, and backstabbed her way to the top because she did the exact same thing to the lead showgirl before her.
33	* BettyAndVeronica: Nomi (the Betty) competes with Cristal (the Veronica) over her boyfriend Zach (the Archie). They also compete with each other for the lead role in the show.
34	* BigEater: Nomi is seen eating a burger in a few scenes.
35	* BisexualLoveTriangle: Zach/Nomi/Cristal.
36	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Nomi hitchhikes to UsefulNotes/LosAngeles and is implied to be returning to prostituting and inflicting violence on people just like before but she makes up with her friend Molly and makes peace with her rival Christal before leaving]].
37	* BookDumb: Nomi's repeated mispronunciation of "Versace."
38	* BookEnds: The film ends with [[spoiler: Nomi catching [[ContrivedCoincidence the same car with the same guy]] who drove her to Vegas in the beginning. It is implied that she will go back to attacking people and being a hooker, like she did before the events of the movie]].
39	* {{Bowdlerise}}:
40	** When aired on Creator/VH1, the networks not only dub over bad language and edit out most of the scenes of sex and violence, but use digitally-rendered bras and panties (most of which look as if it were rendered by graphic artist majors doing this as part of their college internship) to cover nudity. It was required to have a broadcastable version in which the plot (what little of it it has) makes any sense at all (there are plot-relevant scenes that take place while the main character, Nomi, is topless or in the nude), but really, the film's better off not being aired on television at all.
41	** The UK version cut the scene where Molly gets punched and raped by Andrew and his men, as UK censors will still edit an 18-rated movie if it has scenes of sexual violence (i.e. rape and child molestation), animal abuse, dangerous stunts that can easily be imitated, and any content that condones or glamorizes drug abuse.
42	** The film is rated NC-17 in the United States, though an R-rated cut was made available for some video rental chains. It runs three minutes shorter and either removes the more explicit footage or use tamer alternate takes in some cases.
43	* BreakTheCutie: Molly goes through this when she is [[spoiler:brutally raped by Andrew Carver and his guards and no charges are filed because he's a celebrity.]]
44	* BrokenPedestal: Andrew Carver was Molly's favorite musician who she completely idolized. After seeing him live, she was ready and more than willing to sleep with him consensually when he invites her up to his hotel room. [[spoiler:Then he brutally beats her and gang rapes her along with his bodyguards seemingly just because he can.]] Needless to say, whatever positive image Molly once had of Andrew has been thoroughly smashed into bits.
45	* CampGay: Several of the male dancers, who mock the single ''straight'' dancer in the troupe.
46	* ChekhovsGun: The stairs at the Stardust, which are the main (and apparently only) entrance to the stage and where [[spoiler: Nomi pushes Cristal down, critically injuring her.]]
47	** Nomi’s strange reaction when Tony Moss jokingly calls her "Literature/{{Pollyanna}}".
48	** Lampshaded several times, to the point it's implied Nomi stepped in [[ToiletHumor monkey shit from a previous act and slips on stage.]]
49	** Nomi briefly getting arrested at the beginning of the film.
50	* ChekhovsGunman: Julie, who backs up Nomi's BlatantLies of not knowing how Cristal fell down the stairs.
51	* ChorusGirls: Almost expected, since the movie's set in Vegas. Nomi looks on starting here as a step toward becoming a famous dancer.
52	* ClusterFBomb: Nomi's primary method of expressing frustration, anger or any other emotion. Given the [[DarkerAndEdgier tone of the film]], she winds up doing this ''a lot.''
53	* ColorblindCasting: Molly was written in the script as a chubby white girl. In the film, she's a slim, athletic African-American.
54	* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: [[spoiler:We find out at the end of the film that Nomi's father killed her mother and then killed himself.]]
55	* CrapsaccharineWorld: Las Vegas may look like an amusement park that has plenty of glitz and glamour but it is a den of vice and sin with strippers sleeping and cheating to come out on top. [[spoiler:It's also a place where a celebrity like Andrew Carver can get away with raping a young woman]].
56	* DancingIsSeriousBusiness: Much of the film revolves around dancing (albeit it's also related to or akin to stripping or prostitution due to all the nudity and sexuality in it). Specifically, Nomi, Cristal and James take it very seriously, to the point that it's their primary means of supporting themselves.
57	* DarkAndTroubledPast: [[spoiler:Zach eventually discovers that Nomi saw her parents die in a MurderSuicide and spent years hooking in various states (in addition to assaulting someone with a deadly weapon) before she arrived in Vegas]].
58	* DepravedBisexual: Part of Cristal's "evil" seems to be in her willingness to sleep with anyone, of whatever gender, solely for the purpose of controlling or humiliating them. Although the bisexual Cristal is attracted to Nomi, her request to watch Nomi give her boyfriend Zach a lapdance is based more on her desire to humiliate Nomi by proving she engages in sex work.
59	* DigitalBikini: On a non-PPV channel (like VH-1), all the female nudity is covered with obvious computer-rendered bras and panties.
60	* DisproportionateRetribution: Nomi kicks James in the nuts just because he admitted that she was giving him an erection and said she couldn't dance. Also, after he falls backwards onto a couple, the guy gets so angry over an accident, that he punches him in the face.
61	* DogFoodDiet: Nomi is sheepish about having to eat it once. Cristal, on the other hand, is perfectly open about developing a taste for Doggie Chow.
62	* DrugsAreBad: Nomi repeatedly refuses offers of drugs until after she sleeps with Zach, finally taking cocaine in a manner similar to Cristal. It's presented as a sign of Vegas-induced corruption. [[spoiler: And then it turns out that she'd actually been arrested for drug possession before...]]
63	* EasilyForgiven: At the end of the movie, [[spoiler: Cristal isn't mad at Nomi for having stolen her boyfriend and pushed her down the stairs. She implied that she herself did something similar to her predecessor though.]]
64	* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Nomi attracts quite a few admirers, including her rival Cristal Connors.
65	* EveryoneHasStandards: Nomi is perfectly willing to do what came down to live, on-stage lesbian sex, screwing her boss to get a higher position, and pushing the lead dancer down the stairs to get her job, but she won't use ice cubes to make her nipples perky. You have to draw the line somewhere.
66	** Right around the same time as she's grinding on other naked women on-stage, Nomi seems mortally offended at how [[DepravedBisexual Cristal]] eyes her up and, later, is very reluctant to perform a private dance for her and Zach (insisting that the rules only allow her to dance for one person at a time and "no women"). She seems to be okay with making money off of faked lesbianism, but baulks at the idea of actually being desired by another woman (at least [[BigDamnKiss until the end]]).
67	** Two other dancers are in an ongoing rivalry, and one puts up with all kinds of abuse...right up until the other [[BerserkButton starts swearing at her kids.]]
68	* EvilIsHammy: Cristal Connors is one of the hammiest characters in the film from her campy mannerisms and lines to her strange obsession with dog food. And she is the main antagonist, [[spoiler:besides Andrew Carver]].
69	* FakeShemp: That's not Creator/KyleMacLachlan when Zach walks nude into the pool.
70	* FanDisservice:
71	** Nomi getting her period and James "checking her" to make sure she isn't lying and is left with bloody fingers.
72	** Molly's beating and gang rape, which is shown in graphic detail just to drive home how much of an asshole Andrew Carver is.
73	** The pool scene could also qualify: is that a woman or a fish flapping in the water?
74	* {{Fanservice}}: The movie's sole ''raison d'être'' and the purpose of the women's job.
75	* FeeFiFauxPas: Nomi humiliates herself in an interview by mispronouncing "Versace".
76	* FemaleGaze: Zach's butt in the pool scene. Enough said.
77	* FlexibilityEqualsSexAbility: Nomi Malone is able to bring Zack to climax quickly with her wriggliness. The first time is a lap dance that's almost RightThroughHisPants, and the second time is in his pool, thrashing madly amidst AnatomicallyImpossibleSex. Nomi is a pliant li'l minx.
78	* ForcedToWatch: Inverted. Cristal wants to watch Nomi perform a private lapdance on her boyfriend Zach and pays her $500 to do so.
79	* FromTheMouthsOfBabes: Inverted. One showgirl brings her kids into the dressing room, and while [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight neither of them notice or care about being surrounded by topless women]], they go ballistic when another woman swears at them.
80	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Nomi 's hesitancy at Molly asking her where is she from and becoming easily agitated at Molly's questions about her past. This is because [[spoiler: she was prostituting in different states]].
81	-->'''Molly:''' Where you from?
82	-->'''Nomi Malone:''' Back east.
83	-->'''Molly:''' From where back east?
84	-->'''Nomi Malone:''' ''(tosses her fries all over the table)'' Different places!
85	* FullFrontalAssault: Nomi's beatdown of Andrew qualifies.
86	* GratuitousRape: Molly is beaten and raped by Andrew Carver...''just before she was about to have consensual sex with him!'' It came right out of nowhere.
87	* GroinAttack: After impressing James with her dance moves, Nomi kicks him in the groin doing a dance, causing him to stumble back and accidentally cause a fight to break out on the dance floor.
88	* TheGruntingOrgasm: Zach in the swimming pool sex scene.
89	* HairTriggerTemper: Nomi tends to fly off the handle at other people for any reason -- or no reason at all.
90	* HellBentForLeather: The biker stage show.
91	* HoodOrnamentHottie: Nomi is hired for this, and is not amused when the businessmen assume she's going to sleep with them afterwards.
92	* HostileHitchhiker: Nomi thumbs a ride to Las Vegas from a man in a pick-up truck. En route, the man suggests sex-for-mileage; Nomi and her switchblade vehemently disagree. BookEnds with the closing scene, where Nomi thumbs a ride to Los Angeles with the exact same man and pick-up truck. She shrieks, "You stole my luggage!" and resumes slashing at him while he's driving. AtLeastIAdmitIt above.
93	* HypocriticalHumor: Al insists that Penny go by the stage name Hope while dancing at Cheetah's because he wants to keep things "classy". Immediately after we see Mama Bazoom's act: warming up the crowd with terrible bawdy jokes while deliberately makes her breasts fall out of her top.
94	* IdealizedSex: The legendary pool sex scene. Nomi is too high up and far too wiggly on Zach for it to be legitimately seen as intercourse.
95	* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Nomi says this verbatim to Zach, after [[spoiler: he confronts her with her criminal record and about her ''long'' stretch of prostitution arrests, saying she did what she had to survive on the streets after her parents died in a MurderSuicide.]]
96	* ImmodestOrgasm: Nomi and Zach both achieve this in the [[IdealizedSex swimming pool]], complete with a lot of splashing.
97	* InformedAbility:
98	** Nomi is supposed to be a brilliant dancer, but if you actually watch her dance, she's not all that good. Most of her dancing involves flailing her arms, shimmying her breasts, and thrashing her hair around. James even flat-out tells her in the club that she can't dance.
99	*** Worse, in audition scenes several other dancers are visibly [[{{Jobber}} jobbing]] to dance worse than she is, so that she looks good by comparison.
100	*** During Nomi's first night in ''Goddess,'' Molly stands off-stage to inform a bystander (and by proxy the audience) how amazing Nomi's dancing is.
101	** She's also supposed to be streetwise, but she really seems naive at times and falls for things someone genuinely streetwise never would have, such as leaving all her belongings in a stranger's truck, then losing track of the stranger, who naturally is long gone by the time she remembers.
102	* InformedAttractiveness: There is a lot of fuss made about Nomi's hotness, particularly her breasts, which actually aren't that special.
103	* InformedAttribute: Cristal Connors, according to Zach and others, is apparently a huge star that is so popular that fans all the way from Texas recognize her and ask for her autograph, but between primarily starring in the various ''Goddess'' shows and her manipulative, unpleasant personality, you'd have to wonder how she achieved her fame.
104	* InterchangeableAsianCultures / MistakenNationality: In universe: A businessman named Okita (a Japanese surname) is said to be from Bangkok.
105	* ItsNotPornItsArt: This movie is/was intended to be a social commentary on the sex industry (and maybe capitalism in general) and a satire of Hollywood 'rising star' narratives. That's not the reason [[SoBadItsGood most people]] watch the movie, however.
106	* JizzedInMyPants: Zach gets the full treatment when Nomi gives him a lap dance.
107	* KarmaHoudini: While Nomi beats the crap out of Andrew Carver, the other two rapists are not seen again.
108	** They're his security guards, briefly seen when Nomi returns. Mind, Nomi had no idea they were involved.
109	* KarmicRape: Andrew Carver's fate at Nomi's hands.
110	* KlingonPromotion: Nomi gets the lead in ''Goddess'' after shoving Cristal down the stairs. Cristal apparently did the same thing to get ''her'' first lead. It's implied that this is pretty much how the showgirl hierarchy works.
111	* LadySwearsALot: Nomi Malone has a pretty foul mouth especially when she's angry.
112	* LameComeback: "''You're'' gonna jump to ''your'' conclusion!"
113	* LongHairIsFeminine: One of the girls auditioning for the Vegas dance troupe has short hair and is told: "I hope you have a good collection of wigs, sweetie". Cristal also has quite short hair (albeit just above the shoulders) but wears a long hairpiece whenever she's performing.
114	* LostAesop: The film seems to be trying to prove ''something'' but neither the viewers or the movie itself seem to grasp just what that message is. At first it may seem like it's trying to say that a person should never compromise their morals, where Nomi is shown refusing to put ice cubes on her breasts to make her nipples stand up and refuses to do something that's implied to be prostitution... But this would only work if the character were a legitimate HookerWithAHeartOfGold, in that stripping was the worst thing she did. She had no problems pushing the lead dancer down the stairs to injure her, sleeping with her boss to get higher in the position to be said dancer's understudy. She seemed to be very happy with the idea of doing ''extremely'' graphic things on the stage of the old strip club. So "don't compromise your morals" can't work because the character's morals are borderline psychotic. Her interactions with other characters seem to indicate that the message is something about how Nomi really ''is'' a bad person at heart, that Cristal was right and Nomi really was a whore, who while at first denied it, began to accept it willingly or not. But then every other character in the entire movie acts as if Nomi is an absolute saint, no matter what she does. Even the girl she pushed down the stairs calls her a whore as if it were a compliment.
115	-->'''Al Torres:''' You're a fucking stripper, don't you get it.
116	-->'''Nomi Malone:''' I'm a dancer.
117	* MaleGaze: Definitely, especially the strippers.
118	* MamaBear: Julie is sort of this. Although she had already had a lot of tension between her and Annie it seems to have taken Annie upsetting Julie's children that caused her to [[spoiler: sabotage Annie and thus break her leg.]]
119	* ManipulativeBastard: Almost every man in the film, but Zach and Andrew Carver are the most manipulative, fooling Nomi and Molly in their own selfish ways. Their closeness also counts as a VillainousFriendship.
120	* ManipulativeBitch: Cristal, who has no problem jerking Nomi (as well as others) around just for a sense of [[ItAmusedMe amusement or boredom.]] Nomi is also pretty manipulative in her own right, and is arguably even worse than Cristal.
121	* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Nomi and Zach in his swimming pool.
122	* MeaningfulName:
123	** Nomi Malone. Because she's trying to hide her past (No Me) and she feels all alone in the world ((I')Malone).
124	** Otherwise, No, I'm Alone.
125	* MovingTheGoalposts: One poor girl who had auditioned for Goddess earlier in the year had gotten a nose job at the request of Mr. Moss. While he complimented her on the nose and her smile, he still rejected her for the show [[KickTheDog because her ears were sticking out.]]
126	* MundaneMadeAwesome: Nomi Malone ketchups the fuck out of a plate of fries.
127	* NaiveNewcomer: Nomi doesn't know much about the world or life at the Stardust, despite her allegedly being street smart.
128	** Penny/Hope is pretty dense as well, to the point of being a downplayed version of TheDitz.
129	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Andrew Carver is clearly supposed to be Music/MichaelBolton.
130	* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted. James doesn't believe Nomi has her period, so she challenges him to check... and he does. ''With his fingers''. She wasn't lying.
131	* NotSoDifferentRemark: Furious at being called a slut by Annie, Julie accuses her of accepting a PizzaBoySpecialDelivery. Annie immediately accuses Julie of doing the same, but with a meter reader.
132	* OnlySaneWoman: Molly, who also serves as a MoralityPet to Nomi. [[spoiler: Too bad she ends up brutally gang-raped towards the end of the film and from then on is seen lying helpless in a hospital bed.]]
133	** Henrietta, while also an employee at The Cheetah and a pseudo FemaleMisogynist, is a lot more grounded than her co-workers. It may help that she's much older than the rest of them, too.
134	* PayEvilUntoEvil: Nomi kicks the ever-loving shit out of rapist Andrew Carver.
135	* PingPongNaivete: Nomi, who auditions for a topless show but seems shocked when the producer asks the dancers to take their tops off. (Granted, the guy asks in a pretty sleazy, unprofessional manner.) She also doesn't seem to understand Molly's warning that other girls who performed for the boat show "didn't like it," even though you'd think someone who's worked in the sex industry would recognize that euphemism straight away.
136	* PinkIsErotic: Nomi starts her journey to becoming a Las Vegas showgirl by becoming a stripper at Cheetah's, a seedy gentlemen's club that has pink lights both inside and outside. Nomi also wears a pink shirt at one point in the film.
137	* PlatonicKissing: Nomi visits Cristal in her hospital bed after getting the lead role in a topless stage show via a KlingonPromotion. Cristal seems to bear Nomi no ill will, and states that she's content to do nothing while collecting Workers' Compensation. The two kiss, tongues a-wigglin', suggesting LesYay, but really they're just toying with each other. Both women are morally bankrupt and fiendishly catty.
138	* ThePollyanna: Nomi Malone is a more believable and seemingly more cynical version of this trope. Nomi carries a knife, appears street savvy and effectively confronts a truck driver for hitting on her. However, she is shown to be ultimately trusting, to her detriment, leaving her luggage in his car to be stolen. Throughout the film she is betrayed for her trust. The callous Las Vegas show director Tony Moss mysteriously refers to her more than once as looking like a "Pollyanna", the first time for no apparent reason, the second time possibly due to her dress (though this still gives us no clue as to why he would name her as such). [[spoiler: Bonus points for her name actually being "Polly Ann"]]
139	* PornWithPlot: Surprisingly, the film was supposed to be this... It... fell a little short of their dreams.
140	* ProtagonistCentredMorality: Nomi is the main character and is always portrayed as in the right.
141	* RapeAsDrama: The rape scene is infamous, not only because it comes out of nowhere midway through the final act, but also because it's handled realistically and to the most sympathetic character in the movie.
142	* RealMenHateAffection: Al's parting line to Nomi ("Must be weird...not to have anyone...come on you.") is intended as a heartfelt farewell.
143	* RecycledInSPACE: This movie is basically any number of backstage movies (particularly ''Film/AllAboutEve'' and ''42nd Street'') set in the world of X-rated Vegas revues.
144	* ScreenToStageAdaptation: In 2013, an off-off-Broadway parody called ''Showgirls! The Musical'' was mounted by Bob and Tobly [=McSmith=] of Medium Face Productions. Originating at The Krane Theater in New York City, the critical and audience response was overwhelmingly positive. It was moved to a 200-seat off-Broadway theater, XL Nightclub. The production continued to be successful, its original run was extended through July 15, 2013. Actress Rena Riffel reprised her role from the films as Penny for one month of the production. The show closely mimics the plot of the film and often directly incorporates dialog from the film. As the title suggests, it is a musical. It is highly satirical while staying true to the campy nature of the film. The musical takes several characters and condenses them for stage. The characters of Marty and Gaye have been combined to one character, simply called 'Gay'. The characters of Molly and James are both portrayed by actor Marcus Deison. Zack is simply called Creator/KyleMacLachlan. The show features sexually explicit language and nudity throughout. The {{tagline}} is "Singing. Dancing. Tits".
145	* ScrewTheRulesImFamous[=/=]ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: Andrew isn't charged for raping Molly because he's a celebrity and Zack helps cover it up. [[spoiler:Subverted as Nomi tracks him down and [[PayEvilUntoEvil makes him suffer for it]].]]
146	* SexForServices: Most women, apparently, use this to get ahead in life. A few standout examples include Nomi and her boss, James and Penny and heavily implied with Cristal.
147	* SingleMomStripper: A dancer in the nude stage show has to chase down her son running through the dressing room. This appears to be a frequent occurrence.
148	* SleepingTheirWayToTheTop: This is a DiscussedTrope when Nomi gets told that none of the stage girls try to sleep with the bosses to get ahead. She does it anyway by seducing Zach, who she had given a lapdance earlier on in her previous job as a stripper and becomes an outcast because of it.
149	* SleepingWithTheBoss: Nomi eventually sleeps with her new stage boss [[SleepingTheirWayToTheTop to get ahead]] (she had already given him a lapdance when she was still a stripper and not employed by him). The other girls call her out on this because they have an unwritten rule against it, though it's implied at least some of them have also broken this rule.
150	* SpitefulSpit: Nomi delivers one to [[spoiler: Zach]] at the end of the film, after learning the true depths of their betrayal of her and unscrupulousness.
151	* StaircaseTumble: The one in this film is infamous. [[spoiler:Cristal is shoved down the stairs by Nomi in a fit of pique.]]
152	* StrawMisogynist: Most men, apparently, only see women as sex objects.
153	** And then there is Henrietta "Mama" Bazoom who seems to be an in-universe example seeing as what she does at the Cheetah is basically tell misogynistic jokes even though off-stage certain dialogue suggest it's all an act.
154	* StupidEvil: Andrew Carver is too cruel for his own good when it comes to Molly, who is a big fan and was excited to have sex with him. If Carver had some sort of rape fetish, you'd think he'd inform Molly and make sure the whole thing was SafeSaneAndConsensual before going to town. Instead, he calls his guards, punches her in the nose, and gang-rapes her like a monster. This leads to Nomi kicking the shit out of him.
155	* TokenBlackFriend: Molly. The second person main character Nomi meets, she immediately offers her shelter and helps her get a job. She then serves as the voice of reason, though she is constantly ignored. She is the only character with no hidden motive, and the only character of moral integrity. By the end of the film she has been violently gang raped and beaten and is barely alive in a hospital.
156	* ToplessnessFromTheBack: Before entering the stage for her show, Nomi catches a glimpse of Cristal topless in her underwear.
157	* TwoDecadesBehind: The major news coverage of Cristal being hired as the lead of ''Goddess'' ''might'' have been plausible in prior decades, but by the mid 1990s the popularity of Las Vegas showgirls was waning and the kind of shows featured in this film would die out a few years after the film's release.
158	* TwoPersonPoolParty: Zach and Nomi have this after the latter is invited to the former's house and gives way to the very infamous [[IdealizedSex pool scene.]]
159	* UngratefulBitch: Nomi. After puking on Molly's car then being saved by Molly, Nomi still cusses her out and acts petulant when Molly offers her a place to live.
160	** She's also thoroughly pissed at James after he bails her out of jail. He is later revealed to be as big a jerk as Nomi calls him, but he'd done nothing wrong at that point.
161	* UnresolvedSexualTension: Molly and Nomi constantly cast longing glaces, become inexplicably close friends almost immediately, lounge around in their underwear and intimate that they have masturbated together. This is parodied in the off-Broadway parody ''Showgirls: The Musical!'', in a song called "Best Friend Song". Lyrics include: "Men don't know how to write female intimacy/unless we are finger-banging or scissoring/So let's hang out in our underwear, let's hang out in our towels/We'll spend all night masturbating because we are best pals!"; and "We're best friends now, we probably should have sex/'Cause that's what best friends do when the writers are men!"
162	* WhereDaWhiteWomenAt: James' two onscreen love interests are Nomi and Penny, who are both white.
163	* WorstNewsJudgementEver: Cristal being cast as the lead of ''Goddess'' somehow warrants major TV coverage. It's hard to see why even the local networks would care about the casting of a topless revue.
164	* YouCanLeaveYourHatOn: Lots of it.
165	* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: Just as Cristal has almost successfully seduced Nomi, she tells her "Y'see, darlin'? You are a whore." causing her to snap out of it and storm off.
166	* YourMakeupIsRunning: Averted. Somehow Nomi's makeup stays on perfect even after having sex in Zach's pool and getting soaked.
167
168	----
169
170	-->''"[[WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick Man, everybody got]] [[MemeticMutation [=AIDS=] and shit.]]"''
171

Context Film / Showgirls